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The World Editor can't open the map

The editor's message usually names the cause. Match it below, and do not save the map until you know which one it is.

What you see

  • Trigger function does not exist in database, followed by a crash.
  • Invalid Object ID: xxxx while the map loads.
  • Unable to load map file ... Main map file could not be opened.
  • The editor closes or hangs while opening a map, or right after an import.

Why it happens

Trigger function does not exist in database. The map was saved with an extended editor whose GUI functions the stock editor does not know. The game script still works; only the GUI trigger data is foreign.

Invalid Object ID. An intermittent editor bug reported on 2.0.x, including on Blizzard's own campaign maps. The same map usually opens fine the next time. Saving in that state reportedly damages the map.

Main map file could not be opened. Either the archive was damaged while saving (a crash or a power cut right after a save), or the map was saved by a newer editor than the one opening it.

Crashes on import. Each was fixed in a specific patch: .tif imports in 3.0.0, imported tilesets in 2.0.4, percent signs in Lua scripts in 2.0.4. Textures over 512 pixels crashed editors before 1.27b.

Unit or trigger data missing or invalid. The author removed the editor files on purpose. We do not rebuild data an author removed.

How to fix it

  1. Trigger function missing: the stock editor can open the map once those triggers become custom text taken from the map's own script.
  2. Invalid Object ID: do not save. Close and reopen, and restart the editor if it repeats. Keep dated backups when you edit on a new patch.
  3. Could not be opened: first try the newest editor you have. If the file is damaged, copy it aside, then look for %Temp%\WorldEditTestMap.w3x (the last Test Map build) and JassHelper backups before trying recovery tools.
  4. Import crashes: update the editor, convert .tif textures, and keep textures at sizes the target patch supports.

How WC3 Map Doctor detects it

Rules that look for this
  • Severe
    The Lua script contains a percent sign (even in a comment or string), which crashes the editor before 2.0.4.
    LUA-percent-pre-204
  • Severe
    An imported model or texture has a second dot in its file name, which fails to load or crashes on 3.0.
    BRK-dotted-import-path
  • Warnings
    An imported texture is larger than 512 pixels on a side, which is too big for 1.26 and low-end PCs.
    PERF-A01

Operations that fix it on a copy

  • fix.editor-open Make the map open in the 3.0 World Editor

Every scan also reports the map's editability: whether its GUI trigger data is present, uses functions the stock editor lacks, or was stripped by the author. fix.editor-open is in beta. On one hard test map it turned 26 of 297 triggers into custom text, and the map then opened in 10.6 seconds with its game script unchanged byte for byte.

Sources

Written in our own words from our lab notes; these are the pages behind them.